sun beams
by spontaneoushazel
Summary: She hadn't seen Drew in months. Not since the Johto Grand Festival, not since her disqualification. (happy contestshipping week!)


The first ribbon of the season was always the most satisfying. It meant the beginning of new challenges and new memories, and the Floaroma Ribbon looked positively at home pinned inside her new ribbon case. It was a beautiful pastel purple, trimmed with golden lace and embroidered flowers.

Her hands were shaking with excitement as she took one last look, before closing her case with a kiss. One down, four to go. This is it. This season is gonna be different.

With her eyes closed and head tilted back towards the sky, she let the sun beams kiss her face, warming her up. The wind picked up and the aromatic smell of of the town wafted around her. Somewhere nearby, someone was playing gentle, soothing music. It was quiet and peaceful. She wished she could stand in that field of flowers forever.

Hrhhrgggggg.

Okay, maybe not forever. A girl had to eat after all.

And as per tradition (a new tradition she was just now implementing), a new ribbon meant rewarding herself with a three course meal at the best restaurant she could find! And hopefully she could find one fast. There were always so many contestants at the beginning of a season and the first few contests lasted forever. She was starving.

Floaroma was a small town so she didn't have to look too far before she found the place she read about about in Siebold's Guide to Sinnoh Cuisine, Tulip's Fine Daytime Dinin'.

May's mouth was watering in anticipation. She licked her lips and took a step towards the door only to be stopped in her tracks by a familiar voice that made her heart squeeze.

"You just barely won the first contest of the season and the first thing you're gonna do is stuff your face? Why am I not surprised."

Drew.

She hadn't seen Drew in three months, not since the Johto Grand Festival.

Not since her disqualification.

At first she wanted to run away. Three months of forcibly keeping him in the back of her mind had not prepared her for a sudden, unexpected reunion. Thinking of him just made her frustrated and confused, and left her feeling guilty for leaving Johto before the end of the Grand Festival, leaving without saying goodbye and not staying to cheer him on.

Drew didn't make it to the finals. May had gathered the strength to watch his battle a few weeks later, and she couldn't quite explain it but something was off. He was off. She knew him well enough to know he'd been distracted during his battle.

She hadn't expected to see him in Sinnoh. In fact, this was the last place she'd expect to find Drew Hayden.

Super Contests weren't exactly something he was fond of. What had he called them? Tacky? Showy? Obnoxious? All of the above? Back in Johto when she asked him if he was participating in the Wallace Cup, he'd laughed, and yet here he was standing in front of her in Sinnoh, home of the Super Contest.

Though she couldn't deny she was happy to see him. It was hard to imagine contests without Drew. "I believe the word you're looking for is congratulations."

His lips curved upwards, teasing her. "Just be glad I didn't enter. My routines would have blown you and your pokemon right out of the contest stadium."

May felt her chest relax, suddenly free of a the heavy fear that maybe Drew didn't believe in her anymore, maybe he'd given up on her. Maybe he didn't see her as his equal anymore.

She didn't know if her heart could take that.

He didn't seem to be holding on to any negative feelings about Johto, so she decided to act normal. Why bring it up?

"We'll just see about that! Who's got more experience with super contests, hm? Oh, thats right, me!" She put her hands on her hips and smiled, "and I won today! I think that warrants a delicious meal."

He considered her for a moment, looking at her with an unreadable expression. His eyes seemed to linger on her mouth for a few seconds longer than necessary and she couldn't quite figure out how she felt about that.

He noticed her noticing and swiftly averted his eyes, sticking his hands in his pockets and walking towards the entrance. "Congratulations, May," he said quietly into her ear as he walked past. She shivered at the feel of his breath on her skin.

When she turned to join him, a single red rose was waiting for her between his fingers.. "For, uh," he cleared his throat, "for the winner." They were well beyond pretending the roses were for her pokemon. May smiled, trying to hide the giddiness she felt. Her first rose of the season.

"Thanks, Drew."

"Yeah, yeah," and there it was, the flick of the hair, and maybe it was her imagination or maybe the lights reflecting off the flowers, but she could have sworn his ears turned pink. "Now let's eat."

Her mouth started watering again. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

They were seated in the far back section of the small restaurant, by a window looking out at the beautiful meadow. It was breathtaking. It was something out of a fantasy. She closed her eyes and imagined herself as a cool breeze, caressing the flowers as she blew by. "Sinnoh is beautiful," May sighed, and when she opened her eyes, he was looking at her with a funny look on his face. "What?" she asked,

For the first time since she'd met him, he looked positively bewildered. His cheeks were red and his eyes were wide and he was looking at her like he was seeing her for the very first time. However, in the blink of an eye, it was gone, and she couldn't help but think maybe she'd imagined the whole thing. "Nothing," he answered, picking up the menu and studying it closer than was probably necessary. "You should see Alola. Solidad's been there for a few weeks now and she's been sending me postcards. It's gorgeous. You'd like it, I'm sure."

May had heard of Alola, the beautiful tropical region of islands. They'd just opened up a contest league last she heard. "So Solidad's in Alola?" May couldn't help the sting of disappointment in her chest. With Drew here she just assumed Solidad would be here too.

"Yeah. The season started a week ago and she already has two ribbons. I've only been able to watch one of them but the contests there are different than we're used to," Drew's eyes gleamed," and they rely mostly on your pokemon's energy and they use this new technique with Z-moves."

May didn't know anything about that. "Z what?"

Drew's face lit up at the chance to explain. It was cute. May wished he'd show her this side of him more often. Focus, May.

"Z-moves. It's a Alolan move technique that relies on a pokemon and trainers synced energy. It's a beautiful way to show off the bond between trainer and pokemon and when used right, can make for some impressive appeals."

May blinked. That actually sounded pretty cool. How long did it take to master that though, she wondered. "Wow...and Solidad already has it down? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

An amused grin spread across his face. "Worried you won't have the same luck?"

May nodded, and started to play with her hands. "We all know Solidad's the best. And I'm just..." Just a total fake who couldn't even find her own style, she thought bitterly.

A memory played in her head. A fire alarm. Screaming from the audience. Her blaziken being rushed to the Pokemon Center, crying out in excruciating pain.

And it being all her fault.

She bit her lip, trying her best not to look at Drew. "I haven't exactly been syncing well with my Pokemon recently, have I?"

Even without looking at him, she could feel his eyes on her, remembering it too. She could hear it in his sharp inhale, see it in the corner of her eyes how his fingers turned white from his tight grip on the menu. "That was then, not now. All coordinators hit rough patches."

She scoffed, a dull, sad smile playing on her lips."Does Solidad have rough patches?"

She felt it then, the emotions. The negative feelings he'd either been hiding or shutting out. They'd risen and now were bubbling out of him. "Don't compare yourself to Solidad. You're not her, and you never will be, so stop trying."

His words were a kick to the stomach. You're not her, and you never will be. He was right. May had been trying to be Solidad and it had cost her. It got her disqualified, it put hundreds of people in danger, and worst of all it hurt her Pokemon.

She could feel tears start to well up. She clenched her jaw. No, she wouldn't cry here. Not after her big win. "I just… I didn't expect finding my own style to be so hard." When she looked up, she met with Drew's intense stare. His brow was furrowed and his mouth thin.

He didn't say anything for a long time. They just sat in silence listening to the ever lasting flute music and the chitter chatter of the other guests, until finally he asked, "Do you want to know why I came to Sinnoh?"

May nodded.

"I came to Sinnoh because you were here," he confessed. "I could have gone to Alola, to paradise, but I didn't, because you wouldn't be there." His face was beat red, and he had to clear his throat before continuing. "You are a great coordinator all on your own. Stop trying to be like other people."

His words left her speechless, and she felt her skin growing hot. He followed her here? How'd he even know she would be coming here? What did it mean that he followed her here? Was it just a rivalry thing or maybe... no. Nu-uh. May didn't have enough courage to go there.

Thinking about the possibility of his feelings meant thinking about the possibility of her feelings and that was a red flag zone. Total no trespassing. Stay out. Danger Danger Danger.

Still...she felt for the rose in her pocket, and twirled it between her fingers.

"You just called me a great coordinator."

He shrugged."There's a first time for everything."

May smiled. Sinnoh was going to be different. She'd find her style amongst the dozens of new possibilities found in the Super Contests, and she'd definitely be able to show Drew what she came up with this time around. "Thanks, Drew."

"Don't mention it," He said as the waiter came to get their order, "just make it to the Grand Festival and meet me in the finals."

May beamed. "I'm gonna do better than that. I'm gonna win first place!"

And she kept her word.


End file.
